Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope your spring is going well. In this email update, I am going to share with you some of my successes this session to support veterans, service members, and military-connected families. I will also be updating you on some election-year restrictions that will affect my communication with you for the next few months. I hope you find it informative.
Supporting Veterans
I am proud to toil consistently each year to stand up for our veterans, service members, and military families. We must do more to support our veterans and military-connected families. This session, I sponsored four bills to help veterans and military families. All were sent to the governor’s desk, bringing critical support to our military families and veterans.
House Bill 1943 extends the Washington National Guard Postsecondary Education Grant to the direct family of a Washington National Guard member. Additionally, it expands the time that qualifying individuals may use the program, given the various missions they are called upon to perform.
The legislature also approved House Bill 1917, which enters the state into a physician assistant (PA) interstate compact. This makes it easier for PAs to get certification once they have moved to Washington. This helps alleviate workforce issues in the industry but also benefits military-connected families who are trying to find employment after reassignment.
(Credit: LSS Photography)
In addition, Senate Bill 5803 will provide a referral bonus for a Washington National Guard member who successfully recruits a new enlistment contract. This creates an incentive of up to $500 per recruitment for existing Guard members to help bolster the critical ranks. This is the Senate version of my legislation, House Bill 1869. I worked extensively with stakeholders and the Washington Military Department to bring this to the legislature this year coming from a meeting where I learned of how other states found success and to get this to the governor’s desk.
Finally, the legislature sent House Bill 1862 to the governor, extending a Business and Occupation tax credit to nonprofits serving veterans with disabilities which are located on military installations. It also extends a sales tax exemption to disabled veterans while utilizing those facilities. This will be a benefit to our veterans visiting
There were other bills I proudly co-sponsored, including House Bill 2004 to allow our military-connected folks to have priority registration for postsecondary classes, the social worker compact in House Bill 1939, and House Bill 2014 to expand the definition of veterans for eligibility for services and benefits.
Election Year Restrictions
During an election year, there are certain restrictions on my communications to prevent the use of state resources for election purposes. Some of these restrictions include freezes on email updates, websites, and Facebook pages. This means that you will not be receiving updates from me beginning May 6, 2024, until after the general election in November. That is why this will be the last email update you’ll receive from me for a while. However, you can still reach out to my office with questions, requests for meetings, or to deliver messages to me.
In the meantime, I wish you a happy and fulfilling summer and fall. I look forward to reaching back out to you in December.
It’s an honor to serve the 28th and beyond!
Respectfully,
Rep. Mari Leavitt